Under a tenth of patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it publishes its initial advice on the drugs.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Per forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with holistic and continuous treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, explains the agency.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even in the current most favorable case, the production of these medications might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to widen availability, via measures like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
These medications mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase satiety so people reduce food intake.
People commonly begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research suggests users may regain a significant portion after a year of discontinuing the treatment, as their usual food cravings come back.
To be overweight or obese raises your risk for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight affects people in every country and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
